Certain Changes
by Veronica Astoria Hart
Summary: Vash returned with Knives and realized he wasn't as self aware as he thought. Or at the very least he needed to understand plants better so he, Knives and the girls head off to New Oregan to get answers. But along the way, there are...a few (major) complications. VM, WMi, K? (Is he even cut out for that?) Slight OOC problem likely...
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes:

I have no regular updating schedule, no beta-reader, and a half-baked idea that Nightow's characters and storyworld wouldn't appreciate. But I'm crazy enough to keep posting my ideas.

If you read this chapter before the update, you probably noticed a ton of mistakes (I know I did when I went back to edit this) and you might have read the author's note at the bottom. What I said- the promise that I'll finish all of my ficlets- still applies, but when...I really haven't a clue. This may turn into Perf

ect Girl Evolution in terms of new chapters, and I'm really unmotivated sometimes. Jusy a warning.

* * *

He leaned against the door frame, watching her cook. A genuine smile adorned his face. It was a habit now, and his favorite time of the day- donuts excluded. No doubt she was turning the cheap fare into something delicious (his nose could and would attest to that), but Vash found he had little interest in the food. Actually, he wasn't interested in the food at all.

He was watching her cook.

There was something about the process...The way she hummed softly as she put together the ingredients; the way she swayed her hips in time to the tune (which, for all his hundred thirty-odd years, he could not place) and danced around the counters; how the light seemed to hit her just right. How her lips and cheeks always seemed rosier as she smiled...Yes, the was something about Meryl that he loved watching. Well, when her guard was down anyway. Which had happened more and more often as of late. Or was it that he couldn't remember it happening before? Vash had always had Kni- something to worry about...

She seemed so relaxed despite all the problems they were having. When she cooked, unaware of an audience, she seemed not to care. Not care about their money problems, or how the townsfolk hated them, or Knives recuperating upstairs and how he-

_**Don't think about it.**_

Pushing away the maelström of emotions his thoughts brought on, Vash moved from the door and into the kitchen. "What'cha cooking, Insurance Girl?" The empty grin plastered on his face became real when she jumped. Whirling around Meryl opened her mouth to tell him off- only to be stopped as she watched him stiffle his laughter with his hands.

Realizing that Meryl caught him laughing, he gave up his attempt to conceal his mirth, pounding a fist against the counter and holding his stomach as he fought for air. Even though the look on her face was growing murdurous (those walls of hers were back in place now), Vash couldn't help it. Holding that spoon in her hand, sauce dripping down from her nose to her apron, Meryl looked adorable. Especially with that embarassed flush undermining her anger. Staring into her passionate glare, Vash discovered that adorable wasn't the word he was looking for.

_Alluring. That's it. _Meryl was incredibly alluring.

His ears grew warm as he realized the implications of that observation. And the one that came with his blush. Her hand whacked into his head in time to knock the thought from his brain. Conviently, all of the reasons why Vash shouldn't, no, _couldn't _feel that way took its place. They were too different. It was too dangerous. She was human, he was a plant. She never spoke of her family, his was actively trying to destroy humankind. And even if that weren't true, they were too different. _I'm too old._

Still, watching her eyes soften and tension leave her shoulders as he went about whining and apologizing, Vash found he didn't care. His eyes watched her lips move as she scolded him. "...don't sneak up on me again! Okay, Mr. Vash?" And with that Meryl was turning away from him to clean up the mess. Everything slowed down.

Vash saw her foot step into a small sauce puddle on the ground, saw her eyes widden as she slipped, felt her fall into his arms. And then everything sped up so fast that Vash lost several seconds. The next thing he knew, he was kissing her. The petite woman froze. Only for a moment- a moment long enough for his doubts to return.

He prepared to pull back, to plead for forgivness, beg her to pretend it hadn't happened. But then, she did the unthinkable and kissed him back. It was wonderful. And Vash soon found that it wasn't enough and pressed harder, moved faster. He needed more. And Meryl responded in kind.

He pulled back to let her breathe; he wouldn't need to for at least another minute or two, but she was gulping the air greedily._ Perhaps I should have done that sooner_, he mused. The thought was slow in coming. A pleasant haze was forming in his brain. He leaned down again, but she put a finger to his lips, gazing at him through half-lidded eyes. And there went all of his thinking capabilities, out the window, as heat formed a pit beneath his stomach. He needed to stop, before the two of them did something they couldn't take back. Vash knew he did.

So why was it that when Meryl murmured, "Dinner..." he found himself saying it could manage on its own for a few minutes? (And while that was true, he didn't _really_ believe it would only be a few minutes. Indeed, he had a feeling he might not be letting her go ever again.) Her other half-hearted protests were similarly brushed away. Then, albeit a tad shyly, she bridged the gap and kissed him. And then Vash had a bit of trouble telling where she stopped and he began. Wait. No, that wasn't true.

He could feel the electricity zip from Meryl's fingers as she traced a few of his scars- when had he lost his shirt?- and the way her tongue danced inside his mouth. It felt so good, and everything was too hot. And when had she wrapped her legs aroung his waist? And oh man, how he wished she could pull closer-but there wasn't any space between them already. And how could-

* * *

Vash jerked upright. The blond former gunman was on his chair, in Knives' room. And he was completely alone aside from his comatose brother. _What_?

His face flushed as it clicked. Vash had been dreaming. About Meryl. And himself. Doing...naughty things. His blush deepened as he looked down, feeling an uncomfortable bulge between his legs. He fidgeted, shaking the crick out of his neck, clentching his hands. What had he been thinking? Some part of his brain stated that he hadn't, as he'd been asleep, but that made it worse; Vash was already too aware of her during the day, during his waking hours. Now he couldn't keep Meryl out of his mind as he slept?

Light began to stream in from behind the curtains. Vash rose, heading to the bathroom for a shower. There was no way he'd get back to sleep now (he shouldn't have been sleeping in the first place), not with that dream still fresh in his head. Besides...He cast a look at his brother, reaching out to see if Knives had stirred. He hadn't. Vash had Knives to look after. The tall plant nodded, leaving the room.

He'd do his stretches more often until the thoughts, _feelings _of that dream weny away. Until then, he'd limit his contact with Mer- short girl. Hopefully that would help.

Vash doubted they would.

* * *

Word Count: 1,147- about two and a half pages...

Alright! Chapter one has been edited...It's still my first kiss scene and I think Vash is probably OOC, but it's a lot better than it was.

Edited on 4-13-14.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two! Huzzah! (Huzzah. _Huh-zah._ What a strange word. It sounded better in my head than how it looks...)

Wilhelm Wigworthy, I have two things to say to you. First: thank you so much for reviewing! As the first reviewer, you get virtual dessert points. Second: I love your name. Awesome alliteration means more virtual brownie points...That and I've always liked the names "Wilhelm", "William", and all names related...

Potentially creepy thanks aside, all disclaimers and major notes from the previous chapter apply.

* * *

Vash lie on his back, staring into the bleak desert sky. Three days. He blocked the early morning suns with an arm, letting out a sigh. It had been three day since he had The Dream- that was how he refered to it if he allowed his thoughts to tread in such a dangerous place. It had been three days since he decided to ignore Meryl. And he was having a rough time trying to.

They lived in the same house. They ate breakfast and dinner together- because Milly would have a fit if they didn't. And every time he was in the same room as Meryl, Vash remembered The Dream. How her lips had moved. The way she'd felt pressed against him. He found himself wondering what she would do if he _did _act like he had in The Dream. Would they end up the same way? Part of him longed to try it. Many times he'd reach out before realizing what he was doing. And every time, Vash ran.

Mer- _short girl_, he corrected- hadn't managed to find him yet, but Milly had. She'd found him pacing on the porch, curled up in the tub, pretending invisibility on the couch while the other insurance girl slept. Milly had found him no matter where he was, and he needed to be alone.

Vash didn't want her to know why he was behaving so oddly.

Which led to his current position this morning, hiding on their neighbor's roof. (Vash didn't even remember climbing up there.)

But up on the roof, hiding from Meryl- short girl, darn it!- wasn't really better than sitting across from her in the kitchen. In many ways it was worse: his mind travelled in a loop. Meryl, The Dream, what would have happened if he hadn't woken up (and he didn't want to know what that would be like- couldn't let himself know), why he shouldn't feel...whatever it was he felt for her. And then it started again. Vash groaned. If he was lucky Knives would occasionally flit across his thoughts and-

_Knives_.

The tall blond sat up suddenly, eyes wide. Knives. The genocidal plant was still asleep, as he had been since their fight. Which happened two and a half weeks ago.

Vash nearly tripped over his lanky limbs as he rushed off the roof. Eighteen days was too long for a plant to be in a coma. In fact, plants slept to heal; they didn't have comas. As far as he knew at least, production plants didn't. And independents weren't that different from their sisters. He rushed upstairs to his room and threw the door open.

There, on the bed, Knives slept like a baby. There, next to the bed, Meryl was changing Knives' bandages. Vash froze for a moment- the light of the suns filtered through the curtains, making the petite woman seem to glow, making recall why he was hiding from her- but he snapped himself out of it. Something was wrong with Knives.

Vash removed his hand from the doorhandle and rushed over to the bed. He felt Meryl jump, but anything she said was lost on him as he gripped his twin's hand and reached into his mind.

Nothing. No malicious thoughts, no indignant rants, no enraged scolding...and no shield to keep anything out.

Though Vash hardly ever used his plant powers now, there was once a time when he communicated with his brother _**only **_using his mind. It had been a long, long time since then- not long after the Great Fall Vash had stopped, but he still knew when Knives was blocking him. As he figured Knives would after losing their fight. But the stubborn platinum blond wasn't blocking him.

_He's not doing __**anything**_.

Vash turned to the woman next to him, posture tense. His eyes wide and hands clasping his brother's, he said, "Meryl, something's wrong."

She scowled. His genocidal brother had been asleep in their house for weeks, Vash had been avoiding both Milly and herself for several days, the townspeople had hated them since they arrived. And now, out of the blue, Vash decided something was wrong? Meryl opened her mouth to tell him off- and promptly shut it again. The gunman had turned his eyes back to his brother.

Normally, when Vash did something that upset her, he seemed to know that she was upset and wait for her to react. But normal had flown the toma coop if the last few days were any indication. He had started treating her like he had when they first met, all those years ago. So if it was the polite insurance agent he wanted, he get her. The ache in Meryl's chest had nothing to do with Vash. Nothing at all.

"What do you mean, Mr. Vash the Stampede?" The question was asked calmly, politely. Coldly.

The tall outlaw froze at her voice. Slowly, Vash turned around, still holding Knives' hand. He frowned, taking in her expression. Why was she...? Oh. It had been a few days since they last spoke. But...

"Knives shouldn't still be asleep. I spent ten days out of it after...what happened that time, but he should be better by now." Vash tightened his grip on his brother's hand.

Meryl frowned. Sure, she didn't feel anything towards Vash's treatment of her for the past few days- she didn't!- but if Vash was saying what Meryl thought he was...

He looked straight into her eyes- searching for something before he sighed in resignation. "I don't think there's anything we can do for him here." Vash glanced at his brother, suddenly unable to meet her eyes and Meryl froze.

"We have to leave."

Her heart stopped.

* * *

Word count: 955- still about two pages

It seems too short to me, but here you go: another chapter. This one is also unedited and will probably change next time a chapter goes up, but whatever. Should I make the chapters longer? I mean this is basically a single scene and I could try to add another but...Hm...

Review!


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